One of the traditional roles of the English Shepherd was to keep the farm free of pests and predators. Our dogs are no exception. From the time they were pups they have all shown an innate instinct to hunt and erradicate animals they see as a threat to their territory. The picture below shows the unfortunate consequence of a tangle with what we believe was a large groundhog (be forewarned; it’s a little gruesome). Rudy discovered its den in our woods and in an effort to drive it out, stuck his head in. The groundhog grabbed a hold of his ear and nearly pulled it off as Rudy attempted to extricate himself. It was attached only at the very top and it took a good two hours and close to 30 stitches to reattach. We’re very lucky that the vet could see him immediately. At first we had no idea what happened. We asked our vet what, in her opinion could do this kind of damage. She said she would put her money on a ground hog. Two days later (witnessed by my son and his friend), Sawyer and our old farmcollie Judah found that groundhog’s den, killed it and brought back the prize.
